HOUSTON -- An infant found in a trash bag inside a discarded clothes dryer will be placed in foster care while authorities search for her mother, Houston police say.

The 6-pound, 12-ounce baby girl with umbilical cord still attached had no apparent injuries when she arrived at Texas Children's Hospital, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

Police spokesman Kese Smith said witnesses outside The Registry Apartment Homes reported hearing the faint cry of a baby Tuesday afternoon coming from an abandoned dryer sitting next to some large trash containers.

When the witnesses opened the dryer, they found a trash bag with an infant inside and called police.

Homicide investigator Sgt. Colin Howard said he believes the infant was in the dryer for no longer than an hour.

"Luckily, they found her pretty quick," said Howard.

Child welfare authorities planned to ask a judge for custody of the infant who has been named Mia by nurses at the Texas Children's Hospital.